# List of ambassadors of the United States to Portugal

Bilateral diplomatic relations between the United States and Portugal date from the earliest years of the United States. Following the Revolutionary War, Portugal was the first neutral country to recognize the United States. On February 21, 1791, President George Washington opened formal diplomatic relations, naming Col. David Humphreys as U.S. Minister Resident. Subsequent envoys were given the title Minister Plenipotentiary.

## Chiefs of mission

| Name | State of residency | Type of appointee | Title | Appointment | Presentation of credentials | Termination of mission |
| David Humphreys | Connecticut | | Minister Resident | February 21, 1791 | May 13, 1791 | Presented recall on July 25, 1797 |
| William Loughton Smith | South Carolina | | Minister Plenipotentiary | July 10, 1797 | September 8, 1797 | Presented recall on September 9, 1801 |
| Thomas Sumter Jr. | South Carolina | | Minister Plenipotentiary | March 7, 1809 | June 7, 1810 | Presented recall on July 24, 1819 |
| John Graham | Pennsylvania, Virginia | | Minister Plenipotentiary | January 6, 1819 | June 24, 1819 | Left Rio de Janeiro June 13, 1820 |
| John James Appleton | Massachusetts | | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | | Began Service June 1820 | Appleton's last despatch was dated July 12, 1821 (the Legation to Portugal at Rio de Janeiro was closed in 1821) |
| Henry Dearborn Sr. | Massachusetts | | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | May 7, 1822 | Arrived at Lisbon before August 16, 1822; did not report date of presentation of credentials | Had farewell audience June 30, 1824 |
| Thomas Ludwell Lee Brent | Virginia | | Chargé d'Affaires | March 9, 1825 | June 24, 1825 | Left post on or soon after November 28, 1834 |
| Edward Kavanaugh | Maine | | Chargé d'Affaires | March 3, 1835 | July 25, 1835 | Relinquished charge April 19, 1841 |
| Washington Barrow | Mississippi | | Chargé d'Affaires | August 16, 1841 | December 28, 1841 | Presented recall on February 24, 1844 |
| Abraham Rencher | North Carolina | | Chargé d'Affaires | September 22, 1843 | February 24, 1844 | Presented recall on November 4, 1847 |
| George Washington Hopkins | Virginia | | Chargé d'Affaires | March 3, 1847 | November 4, 1847 | Presented recall on October 18, 1849 |
| James Brown Clay | Kentucky | | Chargé d'Affaires | August 1, 1849 | October 18, 1849 | Left post on August 19, 1850 |
| Charles Brickett Haddock | New Hampshire | | Chargé d'Affaires | December 10, 1850 | June 17, 1851 | Presented recall on June 16, 1854 |
| John Louis O'Sullivan | New York | | Chargé d'Affaires | February 16, 1854 | June 16, 1854 | Promoted to Minister Resident October 19, 1854 |
| John Louis O'Sullivan | New York | | Minister Resident | June 29, 1854 | October 19, 1854 | Presented recall on July 15, 1858 |
| George Washington Morgan | Ohio | | Minister Resident | May 11, 1858 | July 15, 1858 | Presented recall on July 19, 1861 |
| James E. Harvey | Pennsylvania | | Minister Resident | March 28, 1861 | July 19, 1861 | Presented recall on July 15, 1869 |
| Samuel Shellabarger | Ohio | | Minister Resident | April 21, 1869 | July 15, 1869 | Relinquished charge January 1, 1870 |
| Charles Hance Lewis | Virginia | | Minister Resident | March 15, 1870 | June 15, 1870 | Presented recall on April 8, 1875 |
| Benjamin Moran | Pennsylvania | | Minister Resident | December 15, 1874 | April 8, 1875 | Presented recall on November 9, 1876 |
| Benjamin Moran | Pennsylvania | | Chargé d'Affaires | August 15, 1876 | November 15, 1876 | Recall presented by successor September 27, 1882 |
| John Morgan Francis | New York | | Minister Resident/Consul General | July 7, 1882 | October 5, 1882 | Left post on August 25, 1884 |
| Lewis Richmond | Rhode Island | | Minister Resident/Consul General | July 4, 1884 | October 23, 1884 | Presented recall on May 7, 1885 |
| Edward Parke Custis Lewis | New Jersey | | Minister Resident/Consul General | April 2, 1885 | June 18, 1885 | Presented recall on June 14, 1889 |
| George Bailey Loring | Massachusetts | | Minister Resident/Consul General | March 30, 1889 | August 29, 1889 | Left post on May 31, 1890 |
| George Sherman Batcheller | New York | | Minister Resident/Consul General | October 1, 1890 | December 30, 1890 | Left post on August 17, 1892 |
| Gilbert Ashville Pierce | Minnesota | | Minister Resident/Consul General | January 6, 1893 | March 20, 1893 | Presented recall on May 24, 1893 |
| George William Caruth | Arkansas | | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | April 25, 1893 | June 30, 1893 | Presented recall on July 24, 1897 |
| Lawrence Townsend | Pennsylvania | | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | June 9, 1897 | August 18, 1897 | Presented recall on May 29, 1899 |
| John Nichol Irwin | Iowa | | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | April 12, 1899 | December 26, 1899 | Left post on May 15, 1900 |
| Francis Butler Loomis | Ohio | | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | June 17, 1901 | August 14, 1901 | Left post on September 16, 1902 |
| Charles Page Bryan | Illinois | | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | January 7, 1903 | April 25, 1903 | Left post on January 16, 1910 |
| Henry Tifft Gage | California | | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | December 21, 1909 | June 11, 1910 | Normal relations interrupted on October 5, 1910 |
| Edwin Vernon Morgan | New York | | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | May 24, 1911 | August 3, 1911 | Left post on February 11, 1912 |
| Cyrus E. Woods | Pennsylvania | | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | January 25, 1912 | March 20, 1912 | Presented recall on August 19, 1913 |
| Thomas Howard Birch | New Jersey | Non-career appointee | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | September 10, 1913 | December 15, 1913 | Left post on March 15, 1922 |
| Fred Morris Dearing | Missouri | Career Foreign Service Officer | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | February 10, 1922 | June 6, 1922 | Relinquished charge February 28, 1930 |
| John Glover South | Kentucky | Non-career appointee | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | December 16, 1929 | March 26, 1930 | Left post on July 28, 1933 |
| Robert Granville Caldwell | Texas | Non-career appointee | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | June 13, 1933 | August 21, 1933 | Left post on May 28, 1937 |
| Herbert Claiborne Pell | Rhode Island | Non-career appointee | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | May 27, 1937 | July 31, 1937 | Left post on February 3, 1941 |
| Bert Fish | Florida | Non-career appointee | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | February 11, 1941 | March 26, 1941 | Died at post on July 21, 1943 |
| Raymond Henry Norweb | Ohio | Career Foreign Service Officer | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | November 15, 1943 | December 3, 1943 | Promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary June 20, 1944 |
| Raymond Henry Norweb | Ohio | Career Foreign Service Officer | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 4, 1944 | June 20, 1944 | Left post on February 15, 1945 |
| Herman Benjamin Baruch | New York | Non-career appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | February 9, 1945 | Officially recognized as of April 12, 1945 | Left post on March 9, 1947 |
| John Cooper Wiley | Indiana | Career Foreign Service Officer | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | April 10, 1947 | June 18, 1947 | Left post March 15, 1948 |
| Lincoln MacVeagh | Connecticut | Non-career appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | April 8, 1948 | June 9, 1948 | Left post on February 26, 1952 |
| Cavendish Wells Cannon | Utah | Career Foreign Service Officer | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | March 13, 1952 | June 2, 1952 | Left post on August 1, 1953 |
| M. Robert Guggenheim | District of Columbia | Non-career appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | June 24, 1953 | August 12, 1953 | Left post on September 19, 1954 |
| James Cowles Hart Bonbright | New York | Career Foreign Service Officer | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | January 24, 1955 | February 18, 1955 | Left post on November 27, 1958 |
| Charles Burke Elbrick | Kentucky | Career Foreign Service Officer | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | October 29, 1958 | January 13, 1959 | Left post on August 31, 1963 |
| George Whelan Anderson Jr. | District of Columbia | Non-career appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | August 1, 1963 | October 22, 1963 | Left post on June 1, 1966 |
| William Tapley Bennett Jr. | Georgia | Career Foreign Service Officer | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 10, 1966 | July 20, 1966 | Left Post on July 21, 1969 |
| Ridgway Brewster Knight | District of Columbia | Career Foreign Service Officer | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 8, 1969 | July 30, 1969 | Left post on February 24, 1973 |
| Ridgway Brewster Knight | New York | Career Foreign Service Officer | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 8, 1969 | July 30, 1969 | Left post on February 24, 1973 |
| Stuart Nash Scott | New York | Non-career appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | December 19, 1973 | January 23, 1974 | Left post on January 12, 1975 |
| Frank Charles Carlucci III | Pennsylvania | Career Foreign Service Officer | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | December 9, 1974 | January 24, 1975 | Left post on February 5, 1978 |
| Richard Joseph Bloomfield | Maryland | Career Foreign Service Officer | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | February 3, 1978 | March 10, 1978 | Left post on June 10, 1982 |
| Henry Allen Holmes Jr. | District of Columbia | Career Foreign Service Officer | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | September 23, 1982 | October 15, 1982 | Left post on June 26, 1985 |
| Frank J. Shakespeare | Connecticut | Non-career appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | August 2, 1985 | October 16, 1985 | Left post on October 4, 1986 |
| Edward Morgan Rowell | California | Career Foreign Service Officer | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | January 19, 1988 | January 29, 1988 | Left post on March 30, 1990 |
| Everett Ellis Briggs | Maine | Career Foreign Service Officer | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | April 1, 1990 | May 25, 1990 | Left post on September 3, 1993 |
| Everett Ellis Briggs | New Hampshire | Career Foreign Service Officer | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | April 1, 1990 | May 25, 1990 | Left post on September 3, 1993 |
| Sharon P. Wilkinson | New York | Career Foreign Service Officer | Chargé d'Affaires | | September 3, 1993 | September 21, 1994 |
| Elizabeth Frawley Bagley | District of Columbia | Non-career appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 5, 1994 | September 21, 1994 | Left post on October 3, 1997 |
| Gerald S. McGowan | Virginia | Non-career appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | November 10, 1997 | March 10, 1998 | Left post on July 3, 2001 |
| John N. Palmer | Mississippi | Non-career appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | November 5, 2001 | November 28, 2001 | Left post on September 25, 2004 |
| Alfred Hoffman | Florida | Non-career appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | October 12, 2005 | November 30, 2005 | Left post on September 15, 2007 |
| Thomas F. Stephenson | California | Non-career appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | October 29, 2007 | February 8, 2008 | Left post on June 21, 2009 |
| Allan J. Katz | Florida | Non-career appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | March 19, 2010 | April 28, 2010 | Left post on July 28, 2013 |
| Robert A. Sherman | Massachusetts | Non-career appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | March 4, 2014 | May 3, 2014 | Left post on January 20, 2017 |
| Herro Mustafa | North Carolina | Career Foreign Service Officer | Chargé d'Affaires | January 20, 2017 | | August 25, 2017 |
| George E. Glass | Oregon | Non-career appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | August 9, 2017 | August 30, 2017 | January 13, 2021 |
| Randi Charno Levine | | Non-career appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | October 29, 2021 | April 22, 2022 | January 20, 2025 |
| Douglas Koneff | Washington D.C. | Career Foreign Service Officer | Chargé d'Affaires | January 20, 2025 | | Incumbent |

### Other nominees

| Name | State of residence | Type of appointee | Title | Appointment | Note |
| John Quincy Adams | Massachusetts | | Minister Plenipotentiary | May 30, 1796 | Did not serve under this appointment. |
| John James Appleton | Massachusetts | | Chargé d'Affaires | | Not commissioned; nomination be Chargé d'Affaires at Rio de Janeiro rejected by the Senate. |
| John Louis O'Sullivan | New York | | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | February 25, 1856 | Nomination withdrawn before the Senate acted upon it. |
| William Cumback | Indiana | | Minister Resident | January 28, 1870 | Declined appointment. |
| John Morgan Francis | New York | | Chargé d'Affaires | April 28, 1882 | Took oath of office, but did not proceed to post in capacity of Chargé d'Affaires. |
| Henry Sherman Boutell | Illinois | | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | March 2, 1911 | Took oath of office, but did not proceed to post. |
| Meredith Nicholson | Indiana | | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | | Not commissioned; nomination withdrawn before the Senate acted upon it. |
| Richard Noyes Viets | Florida | Career Foreign Service Officer | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | September 15, 1987 | Nomination was not acted upon by the Senate. |
| Richard Noyes Viets | Vermont | Career Foreign Service Officer | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | September 15, 1987 | Nomination was not acted upon by the Senate. |